Market Reports

After Period of Correction, Houston Multifamily Market Poised for Recovery

by Taylor Williams July 28, 2017

Houston’s multifamily market appears to be on the verge of recovery after facing considerable headwinds in 2016. Job growth, population growth and faster-than-anticipated apartment absorption in the first half of 2017 are luring investors and lenders back to the region, putting the market on solid footing for future growth. To better understand how we arrived here and to grasp near-term expectations, let’s take a brief look back. The collapse in energy prices and the ensuing job losses of 2015 and 2016 dealt a considerable blow to the overall Houston economy, particularly the multifamily sector. Developers had already started construction on thousands of new units in 2014 and 2015. In 2016 alone, multifamily development had delivered 21,791 new units — a 20-year high. This left a tremendous oversupply of inventory to be absorbed during a period of anemic job growth – only 15,000 new jobs were created in 2016. Supply-side pressure shifted vacancies up and rents down, while investment sales volume dropped dramatically. Today, the picture is quite different. Overall economic fundamentals are steadily improving, taking the multifamily sector along with them. While the energy sector is still in a period of retrenchment, sectors such as education, health services and hospitality/leisure …

July 28, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri Office

Specialty Practices Drive Growth in Kansas City Medical Office Market

by Kristin Harlow July 27, 2017

Kansas City is in the midst of an aggressive expansion of capital investment in medical office space that is consistent with national activity. A variety of factors drive these developments, including patients’ expectations for medical care, a change in how large-scale healthcare operators view their networks and the growth of specialty practitioners. The evolution of medical space created by these forces leads to an entirely new development approach. The most obvious evidence of this change in the Kansas City market is located along the Interstate 435 corridor between State Line Road and Metcalf Avenue. Every major healthcare operator in the metro area either has an established presence there, is in the midst of an expansion project, or both. Within that area, the new medical office building for St. Luke’s Health System at Mission Farms was completed in the second half of 2016. Further west, the 76,000-square-foot Quad Six medical office building, located at 6650 W. 110th St., delivered in June of this year. To the south, at 159th Street and Antioch Road, the first phase of the BluHawk project recently delivered for Shawnee Mission Health – Overland Park. The project includes a 75,000-square-foot medical office building, along with a separate …

July 27, 2017

Market Reports Multifamily Washington Western Western Market Reports

Tech Growth Fuels Apartment Market All Around Puget Sound

by Camren Skelton July 25, 2017

From the hottest commercial submarkets, such as Downtown Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, to far-flung suburbs like Lynnwood, the Puget Sound multifamily market has been firing on all cylinders lately. A major reason for this is the huge growth in tech employment throughout the Puget Sound region. Tech employment in the region has grown almost 87 percent since 2001, and more than 80 tech-based companies have opened engineering offices in Seattle in the past five years. Demand for engineering and creative talent has pushed salaries up. Salaries for tech workers in Seattle are 9 percent higher than the national average. Seattle offers the highest salaries in the nation for positions like vice president of engineering ($253,488) and director of product ($228,482). Demand for talent is also having a major impact on demand for apartments. In South Lake Union, where vacancy is 3.5 percent, demand among renters for apartment units continues to be strong. This is driving tremendous interest among multifamily investors. Newly built, high-quality properties like the 282-unit Radius apartment community lease up very quickly. A joint venture between Kennedy Wilson and Lefrak purchased the just-completed asset in February for $141 million. Radius is a prime example of the quality …

July 25, 2017

Georgia Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta Multifamily Market Continues Strong Performance in All Asset Classes

by John Nelson July 24, 2017

In 2016 and the first quarter of this year, Atlanta’s economy boomed, showing several positive signs that point to another banner year for the multifamily market. From December 2016 through February 2017, Atlanta added 96,700 total non-farm jobs, an increase of 3.7 percent over the same time the previous year. Additionally, in 2016 the city experienced 3 percent wage growth overall. This translates to a robust multifamily market with solid fundamentals. According to Axiometrics, Atlanta’s average effective rent broke the $1,000 ceiling in second-quarter 2016 and has not stopped climbing since, reaching $1,068 as of first-quarter 2017. Rents are projected to increase by just under 5 percent in 2017. While the market’s rent growth rate is slowing, we cannot forget that Atlanta is breaking historical rent records while maintaining an occupancy rate in the 94 percent range for the last 11 consecutive quarters. Throughout the city, all asset classes — from Class C suburban properties to trophy Class A properties in the urban core — are posting strong performances. One trend we are keeping an eye on is single-family development, which is starting to come back as rental rates continue to rise and renters look to make a more permanent …

July 24, 2017

Industrial Market Reports Texas Texas Market Reports

Houston Industrial Developers, Users Bank on Consumer Growth

by Taylor Williams July 21, 2017

At the end of the first quarter 2017, the Houston industrial market finds itself in very familiar territory, with several dominant trends largely maintaining course. Despite continued struggles within the oilfield manufacturing sector, the overall market is still in very good shape. Large consumer goods distributors driven by population growth in the greater Houston area and plastics users responding to increased demand from expanded chemical plant capacities produce the headliner transactions in the current market. This has been the case for the last 12 to 24 months. While leasing and sales for existing manufacturing facilities have slowed in recent years, there are some bright spots to report. CoStar notes an overall market vacancy increase of less than 0.5 percent to a still-historically low 5.7 percent. Northwest and Southeast Houston lead the way in terms of major activity. Northwest Houston currently has 5.1 percent vacancy, driven by consumer product companies like Serta Mattresses, which leased 268,482 square feet at Trammell Crow’s Fallbrook Pines, and Shaw Carpet, which leased 201,600 square feet at Prologis Jersey Village. These firms are inking long-term deals for manufacturing and distribution hubs, reflecting their confidence in the area’s long-term consumer growth. Multiple large positions from FedEx and …

July 21, 2017

Hospitality Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Bedrock Is a Major Force in Motor City

by Kristin Harlow July 20, 2017

You’d be hard-pressed to find a commercial real estate company in the Midwest more active than Bedrock Detroit. The full-service firm — which acquires, leases, finances, develops and manages commercial and residential space — has several projects in the development pipeline spread across property types. Since its founding in 2011, Bedrock has located more than 160 office and retail tenants to Detroit’s “technology-centric” downtown. In addition, Bedrock and its affiliates have invested more than $3.5 billion in acquiring, renovating and developing slightly more than 100 properties totaling about 16 million square feet in downtown Detroit and Cleveland. Bedrock is commonly referred to as the real estate arm of billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures. Gilbert is the chairman and founder of Rock Ventures and Quicken Loans Inc., the mortgage lending giant headquartered in Detroit. Diverse project portfolio In January, a joint venture between Shinola/Detroit LLC and Bedrock broke ground on the eight-story, 130-room Shinola Hotel. Located at 1400 Woodward Ave., the boutique hotel is scheduled to open in fall 2018. (Shinola, a Detroit-based company, is best known as a manufacturer of watches, bicycles and leather goods.) Chef Andrew Carmellini and Noho Hospitality are developing the food and beverage offerings to ensure …

July 20, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Wisconsin

Millennial Workforce Drives Development Wave in Downtown Milwaukee

by Kristin Harlow July 20, 2017

There’s never been a better time to live and work in downtown Milwaukee. With the recession in the rearview mirror, a massive resurgence in the multifamily and office sectors has originated in Wisconsin’s largest city. Since 2011, 2,500 multifamily units have been completed, with an additional 1,500 units under construction and 2,000 proposed. The office market has seen a similar trend with nearly 2 million square feet of new development being created, the bulk of which is Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.’s new $450 million, 32-story office tower. After decades of decline, downtown Milwaukee is experiencing a surge in population growth largely attributed to the development influx. This has changed the makeup of the city’s job market and molded a new workforce hinged on modern factors. With an increase in residents migrating to urban areas to work and reside, companies are shifting gears to tap into this ever-evolving talent market. Catering to millennials Known as the job-hopping generation, millennials are the focus of companies’ recruiting tactics. Combined with competitive compensation packages, businesses have begun leveraging their chief incentive: the physical office space. A prime example of this development, the Third/Fifth Ward on the city’s southeastern side has become one of …

July 20, 2017

California Market Reports Multifamily Western Western Market Reports

L.A. County Apartment Sector is Feeling the Pressure From Buyers, Renters

by Camren Skelton July 18, 2017

Los Angeles County is facing a significant lack of housing product — an issue that can’t be resolved any time soon. With the fight to limit new development, it is a very uphill and challenging battle that is unfortunate for the economy, business and, most of all, residents. An influx of about 160,000 new residents moved to the county from 2010 through 2015, but we have only seen upwards of 25,000 new housing units built during that same time frame. The demand drivers are extremely significant for new housing, but supply constraints like zoning and regulations are preventing an adequate supply. Additionally, with an unemployment rate currently at a historical low of about 4 percent, projections for housing demand over the next decade all point to a severe shortage in this growing region. Despite all the news about companies moving out of state to enjoy less expensive business costs as well as more affordable housing for their employees, this region, along with California as a whole, continues to see a population increase. Even with all this being said, the multifamily sector has and will continue to be the darling of the commercial real estate industry as it’s fueled by a …

July 18, 2017

Georgia Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta’s Office Market Continues to Thrive, Though a Test Looms on the Horizon

by John Nelson July 17, 2017

It is no secret that Atlanta has been a booming market in the post-recession era. Metro Atlanta added more than 85,000 jobs in 2016, while the unemployment rate has dropped to 4.9 percent, back to a prerecession level (2007). Atlanta has ranked near the top of the largest 10 office markets in annual job growth, outpacing the likes of New York, Los Angles and Chicago. There was 3.3 percent job growth in 2016, outpaced by only one large metropolitan peer, Dallas-Fort Worth. Rent Growth The Atlanta office market has shared this success as rents have continued to climb to record levels and vacancy levels have dropped. Since the end of 2012, overall gross asking rents have risen 22.1 percent, or $4.41 per square foot. Thanks to major relocations by companies such as Honeywell, GE Digital and Synovus, and major expansions by Kaiser Permanente, Sage, Anthem and Kabbage, among others, Atlanta’s overall office vacancy rate has plummeted 540 basis points from the end of 2012 (from 22.3 percent to 16.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017). Construction With market fundamentals in a stronger state than at any other time in recent history, the introduction of new product presents a litmus …

July 17, 2017

Market Reports Multifamily Texas Texas Market Reports

Multifamily Financing: Where Is The Market, Where Are The Gaps and How Do We Address Them?

by Taylor Williams July 14, 2017

For nearly a decade, multifamily financing has had the benefit of the most stable sources of long-term debt, which has kept the investment market strong and the property type in favor. Whether it is agency lending, life company permanent debt or commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) financing, there has been a consistent market for multifamily loans throughout the economic recovery. Houston has been the beneficiary of significant capital supporting multifamily investment and development during that time, but there has been some reaction to the slowing growth in the employment market due to the oil and gas commodity price pullback. Construction – New Development The moderate energy downturn in Houston, coupled with the significant new supply of units and softness in specific market segments, has begun to impact the market for multifamily construction loans and joint-venture equity capital. Construction lenders, which normally would be able to make construction loans with 25 percent or less equity, are now requiring up to 40 percent or more equity from developers. Construction loan advance rates have dropped to the 65 percent and below loan-to-cost (LTC) range. Banks have been under pressure to curtail their lending on construction loans and are sensitive to the pressure of …

July 14, 2017

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